DH continues to clamp down on illegal smoking in no smoking areas
The Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the Department of Health (DH) continued to clamp down on illegal smoking in no smoking areas by conducting another enforcement operation, codenamed "Cloudcrush", in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui last night (October 8) and issued a total of five fixed penalty notices (FPNs).
During the operation, officers from TACO (including plainclothes officers) carried out inspections and enforcement action at bars in the vicinity of Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui areas and issued a total of five FPNs to persons illegally smoking waterpipes and cigarette, as well as possessing an e-cigarette capsule. TACO's investigation is ongoing, and prosecution may also be taken against operators of the bars that are suspected of aiding and abetting smoking offences. TACO will also refer the cases to the Liquor Licensing Board for appropriate follow-up action.
Under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Ordinance), conducting a smoking act in a statutory no smoking area (such as indoor areas of bars or restaurants) is prohibited. The Ordinance also prohibits the possession of specified alternative smoking products (ASPs) (including e-cigarette capsules, liquids, heat sticks and herbal cigarettes) in public places. Any person contravening the above provisions is liable to a fixed penalty of $3,000. Moreover, where smoking products (including waterpipes) are sold, in bars or otherwise, the restrictions on the promotion and sale of smoking products stipulated in the Ordinance apply. Offenders are liable on summary conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000. Venue managers of statutory no smoking areas are empowered by the Ordinance to request a smoking offender cease the act; if the offender is not co-operative, the manager may contact the Police for assistance.
In addition, under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission by another person of any offence shall be guilty of the same offence.
During the inspections conducted from January 2024 to date, the DH issued a total of over 300 fixed penalty notices for smoking waterpipe tobacco illegally in indoor no smoking areas, in addition to around 150 summonses to staff of the bars for relevant offences including aiding and abetting smoking in indoor no smoking areas.
"Members of the public must not try or continue consuming ASPs or waterpipes based on the misconception that these products contain less harmful substances. On the contrary, ASPs have been proven to emit numerous toxic substances that can lead to addiction, illness, or even death. A waterpipe is also a smoking product, and its combustion of fuel (e.g. charcoal) releases carbon monoxide. A typical one-hour waterpipe smoking session exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single conventional cigarette. Moreover, sharing a waterpipe apparatus increases the risk of transmitting infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis. People should seek medical attention immediately if they suspect they are developing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning," said the Head of TACO, Dr Manny Lam.
He stressed that TACO will continue to closely monitor and rigorously enforce the law against illegal activities such as waterpipe smoking in no smoking areas, illegal sales and promotions of smoking products, as well as illegal imports of ASPs.
Dr Lam urged smokers to quit smoking as early as possible for their own health and that of others. Members of the public may call the DH's Integrated Smoking Cessation Hotline on 1833 183, or visit TACO's website for information on smoking cessation.
Source: AI-found images
Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for September 2026
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (October 9) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for September 2026.
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs decreased from 44.1 in August 2026 in the contractionary zone to 43.7 in September 2026, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. October 2026) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.4. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for some surveyed sectors dropped in September 2026 as compared with previous month, particularly for the real estate (from 48.5 to 45.4) and restaurants (from 44.0 to 41.3).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 44.8 in August 2026 to 44.3 in September 2026, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. October 2026) was 47.7.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that current business sentiment among SMEs eased somewhat in September. The current diffusion index on business receipts for SMEs edged down from the preceding month, while the outlook diffusion index remained relatively stable, with improvement recorded in the import and export trades, retail trade and wholesale trade sectors. The overall diffusion index on employment also improved slightly.
Looking ahead, the continued solid growth in the Hong Kong economy should support business confidence, though the ongoing uncertainties in the external environment may still affect near-term sentiment. The Government will continue to closely monitor the situation.
Further information
The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).
Source: AI-found images
